Page Avjet Puts 120 Employees Back To Work

Page Avjet Corp., an Orlando-based aircraft modification and maintenance company, is recalling 120 employees and will begin work today on a contract to inspect, sand and paint Air Force cargo planes.

The return of the employees laid off earlier this year is partly the result of the new Air Force work, a subcontracting job for McDonnell Douglas Corp., Jeanne Ladd, a spokesperson for Page Avjet, said Tuesday.

Some of the employees already have been recalled, and some of them will be assigned to work on the Air Force KC-10 fleet of planes, Ladd said.

The contract creates about 50 jobs and is scheduled to run through Sept. 30, 1993. The value of the contract was not immediately available, Ladd said.

The first of the 59 Air Force planes, used extensively in Desert Storm, is scheduled to arrive today at the Page Avjet facility on the west side of Orlando International Airport.

In addition to inspecting, sanding and painting the planes, Page Avjet also will perform required government air-frame and routine engine maintenance, company officials said.

Page Avjet President John L. Arcari said the company, now approved to perform military specification work, will bid on other military support contracts.

Airport officials said the new Page Avjet contract and return of the workers is a boost to the city and airport.

''It's very good news for Orlando because of the jobs and the economic impact for the area,'' said Carolyn Fennell, a spokeswoman for Orlando International Airport. ''It's also a further diversification of the airport, and this is what we've been working on for the Tradeport.''

The Tradeport, where Page Avjet is located, is a 1,500-acre airport-owned industrial park specializing in air cargo and related services. The Tradeport in October opened a 16,000-square-foot inspection station for plants and other perishable products, operated jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a private company, Hudson General Corp.